Kiev forces clash with 'reconnaissance' group

Kiev - Ukraine said on Thursday its forces had clashed with a reconnaissance group that had entered its territory from the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula.

The National Security and Defence Council said the fighting had flared on Wednesday in the Kherson region of Ukraine just north of Crimea, and accused the Russian military of "establishing positions" nearby in the peninsula.

The claims sparked fears that Moscow could be plotting an offensive towards the Black Sea peninsula after Kiev accused Russian troops of seizing territory along Ukraine's eastern border, some 450km.

Crimea, which Russia annexed in March in the face of Western outrage, straddles the Azov and Black seas and is connected by a narrow strip of land with Ukraine's Kherson region.

"On Wednesday evening border guards from... Kherson's Chervoniy Chaban [village] department engaged in a battle with a reconnaissance group from the territory of Crimea," a statement from the security council said.

"Border guards held their positions and forced the scouts to return to the peninsula," it said.